Cooking Light Night #13

Here's a well balanced meal like my mother used to make - Chile-Spiced Tenderloin Steaks with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Garlicky Green Beans. Of all the nutrition advice out there - food pyramids, low carb, low calorie, this, that, and the other - when it comes to creating a balanced meal, I think we were better off when we just had the four food groups. Every night for dinner growing up, my mom always did her best to make sure that the four food groups were well represented. Although I'm not sure my mom would have picked out these exact recipes, tonights Cooking Light Dinner #13 is still a tribute to her.

This is a very easy weeknight meal for four. I had a fun time putting the rub together and brushing it on the steaks. We did decide though that while not offensive, the lime juice was a little too acidic for the ideal flavouring of this tender beefy cut. I would like to try this rub again with just an olive oil base or something else in place of the lime. Also, it's getting dark out earlier now so it becomes more difficult to grill this time of year. Instead of grilling, I cooked the steaks in a hot cast iron skillet, four minutes on each side for a nice sear. Then, since a couple of the steaks were almost two inches thick in the middle, I also baked them for an additional 4 to 6 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees to get the middle cooked through to a nice medium /medium-rare. One way to know if a steak is done on a thick cut like this is to press into the steak with your finger, if the indentation stays, you need to cook it longer. If it bounces back up firmly then you are good to go. Other modifications to the recipes included leaving the skins on the Yukon Gold Potatoes for a little extra rustic texture (great idea Katy!) , and adding a splash of lemon juice to the Garlicky Green Beans to brighten up the flavor. Serve this with a tall glass of cold milk to complete your four food groups!

Chile-Spiced Tenderloin Steaks
Fire up the grill for juicy, flavor-packed steaks coated in a quick and easy marinade. Serve with baked fries and sliced ripe tomatoes for a complete meal. Time: 35 minutes.

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks (about 1 inch thick)
Cooking spray

Prepare grill.
Combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl, and rub marinade mixture evenly over both sides of steaks. Let steaks stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Remove steaks from marinade, and discard remaining marinade. Place steaks on a grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from grill, and let stand 5 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 steak)CALORIES 173 (35% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 2.6g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.3g); IRON 1.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 29mg; CARBOHYDRATE 2g; SODIUM 424mg; PROTEIN 24.5g; FIBER 0.4g Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Horseradish adds a peppery kick, but the potatoes are also good without it. Or add the horseradish last, just to the portion of potatoes reserved for the adults.

2 1/4 pounds cubed peeled Yukon gold potato
2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, warmed
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pan. Add milk and remaining ingredients; mash to desired consistency. Cook over low heat until warm.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)CALORIES 174 (28% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 3.4g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.2g); IRON 0.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 15mg; CALCIUM 29mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28.6g; SODIUM 315mg; PROTEIN 3.2g; FIBER 1.9g Cooking Light, JANUARY 2004

Garlicky Green Beans
If you can find them, use haricots verts, thin and tender green beans. Because this recipe is so simple, coarse freshly ground sea salt and black peppercorns really count.

2 cups green beans, trimmed
1 teaspoon butter
Cooking spray
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Cook beans in boiling water 2 minutes. Drain and plunge beans into ice water; drain.
Melt butter in a small nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add beans, salt, pepper, and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until heated.

Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 1 cup)CALORIES 54 (35% from fat); FAT 2.1g (sat 1.2g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.1g); IRON 1.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 45mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8.4g; SODIUM 170mg; PROTEIN 2.1g; FIBER 3.8g Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2003

Cooking Light Night

Trying to eat better. Planned a bunch of evening meals from Cooking Light and I'll be reviewing them here. Don cooked this one up to perfection. It's hard to believe it's a light recipe it was so good. We ommitted the frozen mashed potatoes and substituded the roasted potato recipe below. The mushroom sauce on the steak was incredible. Even so, it was the chile, garlic, and parmesan flavoring of the potatoes that really stole the spotlight. Be sure to give enough roasting time to let the potatoes get nice and crispy and make sure you don't add the asparagus too soon or it will get mushy. Serve with a tall glass of ice cold milk.



Sirloin Steaks with Mushroom Sauce and Chive-Garlic Potatoes


Serve with sautéed haricots verts.


4 (4-ounce) boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed (about 1 inch thick)
3/8 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (8-ounce) package sliced cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 (24-ounce) package refrigerated mashed potatoes
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Sprinkle steaks evenly with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; keep warm.

2. Add mushrooms to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Combine wine, 1/2 cup water, flour, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; stir well with a whisk. Add wine mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until thick; stir constantly. Remove from heat.

3. Prepare potatoes according to package directions. Stir in chives and garlic powder. Place 3/4 cup potatoes on each of 4 plates. Top each with 1 steak and about 1/4 cup mushroom sauce.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 326 (29% from fat); FAT 10.4g (sat 3.4g,mono 4.9g,poly 0.7g); IRON 4.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 69mg; CALCIUM 46mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.8g; SODIUM 682mg; PROTEIN 28.4g; FIBER 3.6g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2008

Spicy Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus


Move the potatoes to one side of the dish before you add the asparagus so the spears can cook in a single, even layer.


2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 small red potatoes (about 3/4 pound), quartered
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic, divided
1/2 pound asparagus spears

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine 1 teaspoon oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, thyme, peppers, and potatoes in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450º for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cheese and 1/2 teaspoon garlic.

Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Combine 1 teaspoon oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, and asparagus. Add asparagus mixture to dish. Bake for 10 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender.

Yield: 2 servings

CALORIES 223 (27% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 1.9g,mono 3.9g,poly 0.6g); IRON 3.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 136mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.2g; SODIUM 419mg; PROTEIN 9.1g; FIBER 4.6g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2003

Potatoe & onion soup

As soon as Cindy mentioned her Iron Chef challenge, I had two thoughts - she has waaaay too much free time ;) and secondly, the much happier one - I can do that and I know exactly what I'm cooking!

Since I'm lucky enough to go through the Swedish school system when home-economics actually included the textbook including lots of quick and easy recipes for two, this recipe is from my home-economics book. About 30 minutes from beginning to end.

Potatoe & Onion Soup

Ingredients
1/2 leek or 1 yellow onion
1/2 tbs margarine or butter
3 medium size potatoes
2 cups of water
1 bullion cube (I use Knorr's vegetarian bullion cube).
salt (optional)
pepper (optional)
2 tbs cut parsley or leek for decoration (optional)

• Peel and rinse the potatoes; clean and rinse the leek. Cut into thin slices.
• Melt the margarine in a pot (about 3 quarts size).
• Fry the onion in the melted margarine (just for a little bit so that the onion is soft).
• Add potatoes, water, bullion cube, stir and bring to a boil.
• Turn down the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes under lid.
• When the soup is done, add salt and pepper to taste, whisk the soup to break up the potatoes.
• Decorate with either parsley or leek (optional).

This has been a staple recipe for me ever since I moved out of the college dorms, so by now I just eyeball this ... if I have too much potatoes, I just add more water. I always use yellow onion, I'd like it better that way.

Tonight I just used half a yellow onion and four potatoes and it turned out great. I always skip the salt, but always add a little pepper to spice it up. I'm pretty sure it would be OK to substitute the water and the bullion cube with two cups of chicken broth, but I have never tried that. Added bonus, leftovers taste great for lunch the next day.

Kama Sutra Iron Chefs

The Cooking Kama Sutras are taking it up a notch. To spice up our website a bit and bring a little more excitement and inspiration into our kitchens, I've decided to start a little Iron Chef Challenge. Once a week -- or when we have time or when we feel like it -- we will post a new secret ingredient. The challenge will be, much like the Iron Chef show to try to come up with the best recipe you can which really features the best qualities of that ingredient. It can be something that you invent from scratch, something you have made a hundred times before but just want to share it with other people, or a new recipe from your cookbook collection or internet database. It can be an appetizer, main dish, side dish, or dessert. The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination. The only rules are that after the secret ingredient is listed, you will have a certain period of time in which to select your recipe, prepare it, taste test it, and then post it and review it before we pick the next secret ingredient. Even if the recipe turns out to be a total flop, go ahead and post it anyway and give your honest critique. You still get credit for participating.

I would love for as many people to participate as possible. If you want to join in the fun but aren't already on the list of contributing chefs just let me know and I will add you. Unlike the real Iron Chef show (Japanese or American depending on your tastes) among the Kama Sutra Iron Chefs there are no winners and losers. This is just a fun opportunity to share our excitement over cooking and help us to gain more experience in the kitchen as we try new things.

And with that, the first ever Kama Sutra Iron Chef secret ingredient is going to be ...

...Potatoes...

...of any kind. I thought I would start us off with something easy so that everyone would be comfortable taking a shot at it. Still with such a simple household staple product as potatoes, I will be interested to see the incredible variety of dishes that people come up with. Everyone has until January 24th to submit their recipe before we pick a new secret ingredient. Ready...Set...Cook!